Electricity, CNG, or Perhaps Hydrogen? Judge for Yourselves!
In this day and age, the impact that transport has on the environment is a widely discussed topic. Though no drive (at least to date) is perfect, each has its pros and cons. To help you form your own opinion, we offer a comprehensive overview of each type of ecological drive and walk you through their main strengths and weaknesses.
Electric
Powered exclusively by battery-provided energy
Nearly zero operating emissions
Indirect emissions if the car is recharged with energy produced by coal power plants
Technically simple charging at charging stations or from household outlets
Environmental impact of the mining, production and disposal of precious materials required for battery production
Current low costs usually won’t exceed EUR 0.04/km; however, after electric cars are adopted en masse, the electricity price might increase
Hybrid
Conventional fuels combined with electricity.
The electric motor reduces CO2 emissions compared with conventional cars
More complex technology (combination of two drive systems)
Fuel consumption 15 to 35 per cent lower than with internal combustion engine cars, primarily in city traffic
High purchase cost of some versions
Heavier
LPG
Liquefied petroleum gas.
Much cheaper than petrol and diesel
Compulsory annual inspection of the fuel system and limited access to indoor parking facilities
Sufficient number of refuelling stations
No significant environmental benefits
Converting a conventional engine to LPG is fairly cheap: it usually costs around one to two thousand euros
Limited range of factory-made cars
Lower engine noise than with internal combustion engines
Raw material dependence on politically unstable countries
Longer life of engine oils
CNG
Compressed natural gas
Much lower quantities of dust particles, CO2 and other pollutants than diesel engines
Limited refuelling infrastructure
Lower noise levels
Limited access to underground parking facilities
More efficient mixing with air, which may improve the car’s power output
Compulsory regular checks of system tightness and pressure tank tests
Low driving costs, as much as 50 per cent lower than with Natural 95 (petrol)
The purchase cost is higher than that of the petrol version
Lower excise tax than other fuels, road tax exemption
Raw material dependence on politically unstable countries
Extensive range of various models – for example, ŠKODA offers the CNG OCTAVIA, which will soon be joined by the SCALA
Hydrogen
The engine is driven by electricity produced by a reaction of gas and fuel cells made of graphite and other metals.
Low or zero emissions
Technology isn’t advanced enough to be deployed in series production
Infinite sources of hydrogen
No refuelling network
Simple hydrogen/air mixing
Complicated transport – hydrogen is transported in a liquid state at a temperature of -253 °C
Danger of premature fuel mix ignition
The low density of hydrogen requires big fuel tanks
Bio-fuels
Diesel/petrol enriched with vegetable oils, primarily rapeseed oil.
Renewable energy resource
Growing these plants has environmental impacts
If subsidised: cheaper than conventional fuels
2,500 litres of water required to produce 1 litre of bio-fuel
In some cases: lower CO2 emissions
Their use increases the prices of staple foods
Low efficiency – the energy generated by burning biomass from a certain piece of land is as much as 50 times lower than the amount of energy generated by solar panels installed on a piece of land of the same size
This article was originally published in the ŠKODA Mobil supplement RIDE INTO THE FUTUREe.